After a 5-1 first-leg win, Madrid were unlikely to be denied a second straight UEFA Cup success, but Georg Kessler's Köln at least gave Luis Molowny's men a run for their money in Berlin – where the German leg had been scheduled due to crowd trouble during Köln's semi-final victory at KSV Waregem. Uwe Bein put Köln ahead on 23 minutes, but Agustín in the Madrid goal was in fine form, and when they finally broke through again through Ralf Geilenkirchen, time was running out. Rafael Gordillo hit the bar for Madrid, as they completed a Spanish league and UEFA Cup double. "It's extraordinary," said Molowny. "As a coach you can't ask for any more."

Italy won their fourth global crown to become the most successful European country in FIFA World Cup history, and gained revenge for their UEFA EURO 2000 final defeat by France. Marco Materazzi, in for the injured Alessandro Nesta, cancelled out Zinédine Zidane's early penalty with a 19th-minute header and though both teams had further chances, spot kicks were needed. David Trezeguet failed to convert and Fabio Grosso did the necessary. "I went to sleep with my son Christian and the cup," said captain Fabio Cannavaro, who made his 100th international appearance in the decider. "His big smile when he woke up said everything."

The Olympiastadion has staged every Germany Cup final since 1985, and this might be the best of the Berlin deciders, with Jan Kristiansen's strike from 25 metres crashing in off the crossbar to earn Nürnberg their first major trophy since 1968 – and deny ten-man Stuttgart a domestic double. "If you look at the atmosphere in our stadium during recent weeks and today in Berlin, you will see that our fans totally deserve this trophy," said Nürnberg coach Hans Meyer. "They have suffered so much in the past decades. We have been running on empty for weeks, so please don't say we didn't outplay the German champions despite being a man up."

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